The Entire Thought

Make the Most of Each Moment

If you were diagnosed today with a terminal illness and were told that you have six months left to live, how would that knowledge affect you? Some of you may already carry this knowledge with you. What difference has it made in your life? When Anglican bishop and New Testament scholar John Robinson (1919-1983) received similar news, he wrote that his first reaction was one of shock. But then he felt liberated and thought to himself, “Gosh, six months is a long time...how am I going to use it?” At first Robinson thought he should go through his daily planner and cancel engagements. Then he decided against such a negative approach and resolved that “preparation for eternal life means really learning to live,
becoming more concerned with contributing to and enjoying what matters most — giving the most to life and getting the most from it, while it is on offer" (from A Treasury of Quips, Quotes and Anecdotes, Anthony Castle, editor; Twenty-Third publications, Mystic, Conn.: 1998).
Similar thoughts were expressed by an oncologist in a New Zealand newspaper. Her experience with cancer
patients led her to conclude: “Cancer makes people start thinking about the quality of their lives. . .in fact, some people never become completely human beings and really start living until they get cancer. We all know we are going to died but cancer makes people face up to it. Cancer patients live with a lot of extra enjoyment because they have faced their fear of death. Cancer patients aren’t dying. They are living!” (from an article that appeared in 1973 in the Palmerston North
Evening Standard).
As the liturgical year winds down, its focus on the last things reminds us that we all live under the sure specter of death. As believers, we accept dying as a passage to life, but we also cannot ignore or waste the finality that dying brings. Death reminds us that we are to accept each day as a gift, to become all we can, to do all that we can for as many people as God places in our path. Whether we know how long that might be or not, the concluding liturgical year presses upon us with an urgency that invites each of us to make the most of every moment, for it is this moment alone that we can be sure.
The woman featured in the first reading from the book of Proverbs inspires us to use well all the moments we are given. She is unnamed, and in her anonymity she illustrates the silent greatness that can be achieved in doing ordinary things with extraordinary care. A good wife and mother (as is illustrated in omitted verses), she prepared a lasting legacy through her simple world of cooking, housework and reaching out to share with those less fortunate.
In today’s second reading from Paul’s first preserved correspondence, the great apostle shared with the
Thessalonians what he also shares with us: the necessity of living in the present moment. Paul advises us to be alert and sober and not to let any opportunity pass us by. Live in the bright and revealing light of truth, Paul urges, so as not to have anything to hide or anything of which to be ashamed when time is no more.
Today’s Gospel describes something of the daring and devotion required of believers who wish to make the most of every moment. The Matthean Jesus’ parable reminds each of us that we have been given gifts to use, to develop, to share. Not all gifts are the same, but all are valuable, reflective of the One who gives to each of us so uniquely. In Jesus’ parable, the servants who were given various shares in their master’s possessions did not know how long they would have to use them to their best advantage. Two made the most of what they had and were invited to share more deeply with their master. The other failed to use the gift that he had been given. His inattentiveness to the treasure that was within his grasp communicates the same lesson that we learn each year at this time. Shall we follow his example, or that of the other
servants and Paul and the good woman of Proverbs?
Whether we know that we have six more months to live or six more decades, the urgency with which we live each moment and the best use we make of the gifts we have been given is our gift to God and a sure way to prepare for that ultimate encounter with death that leads to life.


Patricia Sanchez
Celebration, November 16, 2008

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